CHP: Drunk cab stealer causes chaos on Highway 4

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Several cars were involved in a series of crashes caused by a stolen taxi going the wrong way, the CHP said. (Photo courtesy CHP)

A woman was arrested Friday for allegedly stealing a taxi and driving the wrong way on Highway 4 in Martinez, causing two crashes, authorities said.

The chain of events began about 8:15 a.m. when Jaimee Ellam, 40, stole an orange Ford Crown Victoria from the 800 block of Escobar Street in downtown Martinez after the keys were left in the vehicle, said Martinez police Sgt. Tyson Muncher.

Ellam then got on westbound Highway 4, authorities said. A witness, 52-year-old John Solis of Hercules, said he saw a woman in the taxi stopped on the highway’s westbound shoulder. The woman then suddenly made a U-turn and began driving east in a westbound lane, he said.

Jaimee Ellam

“I’m looking at her and thinking, ‘What the heck is that lady doing?’ ” Solis said.

The woman at one point went into the dirt median, and Solis thought she was going to make another U-turn so that she’d be going in the right direction.

A woman stole this taxi and went the wrong way on Highway 4, the California Highway Patrol said. (Photo courtesy CHP)

Instead, she continued going the wrong way, “weaving in and out of traffic and dodging cars,” Solis said. “She’s driving in between cars, and cars are trying to get away from her. She was hauling a–.”

Martinez police dispatch started getting calls about the wrong-way driver. As Ellam approached the Morello Avenue exit, she caused the driver of a Honda Civic to swerve and hit the median, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The driver of an SUV tried to get out of the taxi’s path but hit a gray van, causing the SUV to turn on its side, authorities said.

Ellam suffered minor injuries in the crash. She was checked out at a hospital before being jailed on suspicion of auto theft and felony drunken driving, Muncher said.